Bhubaneswar: In a major blow to Biju Janata Dal (BJD), three members of the family of veteran leader from Bhadrak and former minister Prafulla Samal joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Bhubaneswar on Saturday.

Sources said Samal’s sons Prayaskanti and Pranitkanti, his sister Urmila Nayak and their supporters joined the saffron party at its state headquarters in Bhubaneswar in the presence of BJP Odisha unit president Manmohan Samal and other senior leaders. ADVERTISEMENT

A former chairperson of Bhadrak municipality and a state secretary of BJD, Prayaskanti had resigned from the regional party in May this year.

Similarly, Urmila Nayak, chairperson of Bhadrak Sadar block (Panchayat Samiti), along with the chairpersons of three other blocks had resigned from BJD a few days a

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